I have a sneaky feeling we will be bumping this thread up a lot during next season's Champions League campaign, like how we kept bumping up the thread where naysayers declared that Leicester is water that will find it's level in the EPL season

Last edited by benteke on Tue May 03, 2016 10:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Nah man. The comparison is about style which is not valid IMO. But the English love to inject themselves in the success of others

Here is what I just read on the Telegraph:

Quote:

Just like Leicester City, the speed and incision of Atlético’s sudden attacks was also striking and there was an early scare when Torres broke behind the Bayern defence and had his shot deflected onto the crossbar before the assistant referee’s offside flag had been noticed. Gabi twice also tested Manuel Neuer with powerful strikes from just outside Bayern’s penalty area.

Truth is Atleti's counter style is far more sophisticated and varied than LC's. I love La Liga and have watched enough of LC this season to know that the comparison above is simply not valid

But that's typical. Not to take anything away from LC but they haven't proved anything other than win a title in a rather mediocre league this season

I won't call it mediocre, and I don't care about this Laliga vs EPL nonsense.

Man City and Liverpool are still in the mix in Europe.

The Leicester side has 5-6 world class players. Players who just failed to make the grade 6-10 years ago in top clubs (e.g. Huth) and players like Schmiechel, Kante and Mahrez who were still growing and maturing when Leicester got them.

I'm not saying they are as good as Athleti, but they are similar. Like Athleti, The whole is greater than the sum of the parts (synergy), and in the second half of the season, they have become very difficult to score against.

I won't bet against Leicester and Spurs making it out of the group stages of the Champions league, if the teams are not broken up, and key additions can be made to account for the increased number of games.

Last edited by truetalk on Wed May 04, 2016 12:03 am, edited 2 times in total.

But that's typical. Not to take anything away from LC but they haven't proved anything other than win a title in a rather mediocre league this season

I won't call it mediocre, and I don't care about this Laliga vs EPL nonsense.

Man City and Liverpool are still in the mix in Europe.

The Leicester side has 5-6 world class players. Players who just failed to make the grade 6-10 years ago in top clubs (e.g. Huth) and players like Schmiechel, Kante and Mahrez who were still growing and maturing when Leicester got them.

I'm not saying they are as good as Athleti, but they are similar. Like Athleti, The whole is greater than the sum of the parts (synergy), and in the second half of the season, thy have become very difficult to score against.

I won;t bet against Leicester and Spurs making it out of the group stages of the Champions league, if the teams are not broken up, and key additions can be made to account for the increased number of games.

I will. managing UCL and EPL is not easy oh. Your squad has to get much bigger. I will be shocked if LC does anything in next years champs league.

_________________"We will go through the gate. If the gate is closed, we will go over the fence. If the fence is too high, we will pole vault in. If that doesn’t work, we will parachute in. But we are going to get health-care reform passed"Nancy Pelosi, 01/28/2010 after Scott Brown got elected to Ted Kennedy's senate seat.

But that's typical. Not to take anything away from LC but they haven't proved anything other than win a title in a rather mediocre league this season

I won't call it mediocre, and I don't care about this Laliga vs EPL nonsense.

Man City and Liverpool are still in the mix in Europe.

The Leicester side has 5-6 world class players. Players who just failed to make the grade 6-10 years ago in top clubs (e.g. Huth) and players like Schmiechel, Kante and Mahrez who were still growing and maturing when Leicester got them.

I'm not saying they are as good as Athleti, but they are similar. Like Athleti, The whole is greater than the sum of the parts (synergy), and in the second half of the season, thy have become very difficult to score against.

I won;t bet against Leicester and Spurs making it out of the group stages of the Champions league, if the teams are not broken up, and key additions can be made to account for the increased number of games.

I will. managing UCL and EPL is not easy oh. Your squad has to get much bigger. I will be shocked if LC does anything in next years champs league.

Its not impossible, especially if their goal in the EPL is not necessarily to win it like they did this year.Plus as EPL winners, they get to be seeded, which means they "probably" will get one other big team at best. Not saying they will make it out, but its not impossible if their group is favorable.

_________________From this day forth, I stand by the entity that is ARSENAL.
I'm in despair when we lose, I rejoice when we win and I become emotional for all that happens in between
but may no one dare say I was not there when its all said and done - Globero

But that's typical. Not to take anything away from LC but they haven't proved anything other than win a title in a rather mediocre league this season

I won't call it mediocre, and I don't care about this Laliga vs EPL nonsense.

Man City and Liverpool are still in the mix in Europe.

The Leicester side has 5-6 world class players. Players who just failed to make the grade 6-10 years ago in top clubs (e.g. Huth) and players like Schmiechel, Kante and Mahrez who were still growing and maturing when Leicester got them.

I'm not saying they are as good as Athleti, but they are similar. Like Athleti, The whole is greater than the sum of the parts (synergy), and in the second half of the season, thy have become very difficult to score against.

I won;t bet against Leicester and Spurs making it out of the group stages of the Champions league, if the teams are not broken up, and key additions can be made to account for the increased number of games.

Who are these world class players?

As for the comparisons, Leicester and Atletico are not similar. The problem people have is that they watch Atletico a couple of times in the Champions League and a couple of times against Barca and Real Madrid and start drawing conclusions. The style of play is different. Atletico don't play a lot of long balls - they prefer to pass their way out of defense, preferably along the touch-line. Their counter-attacks are swift and speedy, but the ball is mostly on the ground and it involves a lot of quick passes (that is not the same as Leicester launching the ball to Vardy). Their level of intensity is also insane.

Another difference is that Atletico, unlike Leicester, did not just come out of nowhere. They are traditionally the third biggest team in Spain after Barca and Real Madrid, although they struggled for about 10 years before they started winning the Europa League about 5 years ago and raised the bar when Simeone arrived. This is their second Champions League final in three years. They won La Liga two years ago.

In short, Leicester is an underdog that came from nowhere to win the EPL while Atletico is a Spanish giant that recently woke from its slumber (as I said, they traditionally the third biggest team in Spain after Barca and Real Madrid). There is very little comparison with Leicester in terms of status and style of play.

_________________Eto’o, Ronaldinho, Deco, and Messi are like good caviar, tender pine-nuts, chemical-free sea salt, and the purest of virgin olive oils, said one of the world's greatest chefs, Ferran Adria of El Bulli restaurant, Before Barca went on to wallop Madrid 3-0 at the Bernabeu.

“I believe the target of anything in life should be to do it so well that it becomes an art. Football is like that. When I watch Barcelona, it is art” — Arsène Wenger, August 2009

Last edited by Vincent. on Wed May 04, 2016 12:18 am, edited 2 times in total.

Yup. Only folks who haven't watched Atleti a lot would make such a comparison. They aren't similar at all. Their styles could not be more different

Vincent. wrote:

truetalk wrote:

YUJAM wrote:

Unbelievable!

But that's typical. Not to take anything away from LC but they haven't proved anything other than win a title in a rather mediocre league this season

I won't call it mediocre, and I don't care about this Laliga vs EPL nonsense.

Man City and Liverpool are still in the mix in Europe.

The Leicester side has 5-6 world class players. Players who just failed to make the grade 6-10 years ago in top clubs (e.g. Huth) and players like Schmiechel, Kante and Mahrez who were still growing and maturing when Leicester got them.

I'm not saying they are as good as Athleti, but they are similar. Like Athleti, The whole is greater than the sum of the parts (synergy), and in the second half of the season, thy have become very difficult to score against.

I won;t bet against Leicester and Spurs making it out of the group stages of the Champions league, if the teams are not broken up, and key additions can be made to account for the increased number of games.

Who are these world class players?

Leicester and Atletico are not similar. The problem people have is that they watch Atletico a couple of times in the Champions League and a couple of times against Barca and Real Madrid and start drawing conclusions. The style of play is different. Atletico don't play a lot of long balls - they prefer to pass their way out of defense, preferably along the touch-line. Their counter-attacks are swift and speedy, but the ball is mostly on the ground and it involves a lot of quick passes (that is not the same as Leicester launching the ball to Vardy). Their level of intensity is also insane.

Another difference is that Atletico, unlike Leicester, did not just come out of nowhere. They are traditionally the third biggest team in Spain after Barca and Real Madrid, although they struggled for about 10 years before they started winning the Europa League about 5 years ago and raised the bar when Simeone arrived. This is their second Champions League final in three years. They won La Liga two years ago.

In short, Leicester is an underdog that came from nowhere to win the EPL while Atletico is a Spanish giant that recently woke from its slumber (as I said, they traditionally the third biggest team in Spain after Barca and Real Madrid). There is very little comparison with Leicester in terms of status and style of play.

On a given day, a given circumstance, you think you have a limit. And you then go for this limit and you touch this limit, and you think, 'Okay, this is the limit.' As soon as you touch this limit, something happens and you suddenly can go a little bit further. With your mind power, your determination, your instinct, and the experience as well, you can fly very high - Ayton Senna

But that's typical. Not to take anything away from LC but they haven't proved anything other than win a title in a rather mediocre league this season

I won't call it mediocre, and I don't care about this Laliga vs EPL nonsense.

Man City and Liverpool are still in the mix in Europe.

The Leicester side has 5-6 world class players. Players who just failed to make the grade 6-10 years ago in top clubs (e.g. Huth) and players like Schmiechel, Kante and Mahrez who were still growing and maturing when Leicester got them.

I'm not saying they are as good as Athleti, but they are similar. Like Athleti, The whole is greater than the sum of the parts (synergy), and in the second half of the season, thy have become very difficult to score against.

I won;t bet against Leicester and Spurs making it out of the group stages of the Champions league, if the teams are not broken up, and key additions can be made to account for the increased number of games.

Who are these world class players?

As for the comparisons, Leicester and Atletico are not similar. The problem people have is that they watch Atletico a couple of times in the Champions League and a couple of times against Barca and Real Madrid and start drawing conclusions. The style of play is different. Atletico don't play a lot of long balls - they prefer to pass their way out of defense, preferably along the touch-line. Their counter-attacks are swift and speedy, but the ball is mostly on the ground and it involves a lot of quick passes (that is not the same as Leicester launching the ball to Vardy). Their level of intensity is also insane.

Another difference is that Atletico, unlike Leicester, did not just come out of nowhere. They are traditionally the third biggest team in Spain after Barca and Real Madrid, although they struggled for about 10 years before they started winning the Europa League about 5 years ago and raised the bar when Simeone arrived. This is their second Champions League final in three years. They won La Liga two years ago.

In short, Leicester is an underdog that came from nowhere to win the EPL while Atletico is a Spanish giant that recently woke from its slumber (as I said, they traditionally the third biggest team in Spain after Barca and Real Madrid). There is very little comparison with Leicester in terms of status and style of play.

I think the real problem here is actually that some of you don't watch Leicester a lot, these days in the EPL even your traditional notorious long ball teams like Stoke City are playing a lot of crisp passing football,

There is a big debate currently going on as to how Leicester have pulled this off, but it's not far fetched to say there are some similarities with Atletico.

Yup. Only folks who haven't watched Atleti a lot would make such a comparison. They aren't similar at all. Their styles could not be more different

Vincent. wrote:

truetalk wrote:

YUJAM wrote:

Unbelievable!

But that's typical. Not to take anything away from LC but they haven't proved anything other than win a title in a rather mediocre league this season

I won't call it mediocre, and I don't care about this Laliga vs EPL nonsense.

Man City and Liverpool are still in the mix in Europe.

The Leicester side has 5-6 world class players. Players who just failed to make the grade 6-10 years ago in top clubs (e.g. Huth) and players like Schmiechel, Kante and Mahrez who were still growing and maturing when Leicester got them.

I'm not saying they are as good as Athleti, but they are similar. Like Athleti, The whole is greater than the sum of the parts (synergy), and in the second half of the season, thy have become very difficult to score against.

I won;t bet against Leicester and Spurs making it out of the group stages of the Champions league, if the teams are not broken up, and key additions can be made to account for the increased number of games.

Who are these world class players?

Leicester and Atletico are not similar. The problem people have is that they watch Atletico a couple of times in the Champions League and a couple of times against Barca and Real Madrid and start drawing conclusions. The style of play is different. Atletico don't play a lot of long balls - they prefer to pass their way out of defense, preferably along the touch-line. Their counter-attacks are swift and speedy, but the ball is mostly on the ground and it involves a lot of quick passes (that is not the same as Leicester launching the ball to Vardy). Their level of intensity is also insane.

Another difference is that Atletico, unlike Leicester, did not just come out of nowhere. They are traditionally the third biggest team in Spain after Barca and Real Madrid, although they struggled for about 10 years before they started winning the Europa League about 5 years ago and raised the bar when Simeone arrived. This is their second Champions League final in three years. They won La Liga two years ago.

In short, Leicester is an underdog that came from nowhere to win the EPL while Atletico is a Spanish giant that recently woke from its slumber (as I said, they traditionally the third biggest team in Spain after Barca and Real Madrid). There is very little comparison with Leicester in terms of status and style of play.

You and I were not talking about attacking style. But they are similar in terms of grit, synergy and now, being difficult to score against. It is on the defensive side of the ball, playing without possession and breaking up play in around the danger area, that they are similar. Anyone who does not see this, is not very deep in their analysis of football.

http://statsbomb.com/2016/02/atletico-m ... -the-ball/Toughest to progress the ball into the danger zone againstToughest to actually complete a pass in the danger zoneToughest to carry the ball into the danger zoneToughest to play a short pass to set up a chance against2nd (booo!) toughest to get a close shot againstToughest to get a shot clean through on goal againstAthletico has been spending a lot recently. They have relatively deep pockets and were able to get guys like Mandzukic from Bayern in recent years.

Liecester has now come into some money and if they are able to keep these players, stay injury free like this season, and reinforce the team, they might just be able to compete in Europe next year.

Let me play the Agama Lizard falling from the palm tree a bit.

Especially glad Ndidi is coming into his own in trying to fill the huge vpod left by Kante.

Last edited by truetalk on Tue Mar 14, 2017 10:46 pm, edited 2 times in total.

I am not even sure about the things you listed (grit, synergy etc). Atleti plays very differently from Leicester. Their defensive style is very different too.

Yes Atleti have the best defense in Spain and Europe but that's nothing new

truetalk wrote:

YUJAM wrote:

Yup. Only folks who haven't watched Atleti a lot would make such a comparison. They aren't similar at all. Their styles could not be more different

Vincent. wrote:

truetalk wrote:

YUJAM wrote:

Unbelievable!

But that's typical. Not to take anything away from LC but they haven't proved anything other than win a title in a rather mediocre league this season

I won't call it mediocre, and I don't care about this Laliga vs EPL nonsense.

Man City and Liverpool are still in the mix in Europe.

The Leicester side has 5-6 world class players. Players who just failed to make the grade 6-10 years ago in top clubs (e.g. Huth) and players like Schmiechel, Kante and Mahrez who were still growing and maturing when Leicester got them.

I'm not saying they are as good as Athleti, but they are similar. Like Athleti, The whole is greater than the sum of the parts (synergy), and in the second half of the season, thy have become very difficult to score against.

I won;t bet against Leicester and Spurs making it out of the group stages of the Champions league, if the teams are not broken up, and key additions can be made to account for the increased number of games.

Who are these world class players?

Leicester and Atletico are not similar. The problem people have is that they watch Atletico a couple of times in the Champions League and a couple of times against Barca and Real Madrid and start drawing conclusions. The style of play is different. Atletico don't play a lot of long balls - they prefer to pass their way out of defense, preferably along the touch-line. Their counter-attacks are swift and speedy, but the ball is mostly on the ground and it involves a lot of quick passes (that is not the same as Leicester launching the ball to Vardy). Their level of intensity is also insane.

Another difference is that Atletico, unlike Leicester, did not just come out of nowhere. They are traditionally the third biggest team in Spain after Barca and Real Madrid, although they struggled for about 10 years before they started winning the Europa League about 5 years ago and raised the bar when Simeone arrived. This is their second Champions League final in three years. They won La Liga two years ago.

In short, Leicester is an underdog that came from nowhere to win the EPL while Atletico is a Spanish giant that recently woke from its slumber (as I said, they traditionally the third biggest team in Spain after Barca and Real Madrid). There is very little comparison with Leicester in terms of status and style of play.

You and I were not talking about attacking style. But they are similar in terms of grit, synergy and now, being difficult to score against. It is on the defensive side of the ball, playing without possession and breaking up play in around the danger area, that they are similar. Anyone who does not see this, is not very deep in their analysis of football.

http://statsbomb.com/2016/02/atletico-m ... -the-ball/Toughest to progress the ball into the danger zone againstToughest to actually complete a pass in the danger zoneToughest to carry the ball into the danger zoneToughest to play a short pass to set up a chance against2nd (booo!) toughest to get a close shot againstToughest to get a shot clean through on goal againstAthletico has been spending a lot recently. They have relatively deep pockets and were able to get guys like Mandzukic from Bayern in recent years.

Liecester has now come into some money and if they are able to keep these players, stay injury free like this season, and reinforce the team, they might just be able to compete in Europe next year.

My brother Yujam hating on the EPL again. What's new ? Peep this though Yus, could any of the pretenders in La Liga do a Leicester ?This is what makes the EPL exciting. That a Leicester could happen. And with the new TV deal, the EPL is only gonna get more competitive. More teams like Stoke can afford to buy better players. I predict that the number of points required to win the EPL is going to fall and the gap between the top 3 and the rest will be much less as time goes on. Unlike the trifecta in La Liga who have a stranglehold on the title. Watch this space.

Yujam and vincent doing their best to distance their beloved la liga team from LC.

Abeg Vincent, how many times have you watched LC outside of games vs top opposition..

Athleti is a glorified LC with significantly better players.. Foundation of their football - tight defense and counter attack is similar IMO. How they decide to execute can be put up for debate.

I couldn't have said it better except to add that both LC and Athleti have similarly achieved big success in leagues where the traditional powers outspend them 10 to 1 apiece. Yep. The LC / Atleti comoarison is very apt